Link was in the most fierce battle he had ever been in. Ganondorf, Majora, the zombie king, and the five wizards he had beaten didn't stack up to this. He would have to make a life or death decision now, it was do or die.
"Got any fours?" he asked Ken.
"Go fish."

Link had defeated five wizards so far, the wizard of fire, the wizard of darkness, the wizard of death, the wizard of potions, and the wizards of ice and wind. Two wizards were still alive. One had yet to show himself, and the other switched sides. The wizard of magic, and as corny and stupid as that title sounds, it was the only title that fit. He specialized in no certain area as the others did, he was a master of magic spells, incantations, and concoctions.

Ken was very old though, and he wouldn't be alive for much longer. He made Link his pupil, so his special magic techniques would never die. Link trained hard to learn these spells, according to Ken, he would need them to beat the final wizard.

"Well, I win again Link," Ken said smiling.
"Yeah, I guess I need more work on my mind-reading spell," Link replied gathering up the cards. He put them in a pile then placed them on a shelf.
"Guess you're cooking again Link," Ciel said. The three were in Ciel's house at the Kokiri Forest. This is where they trained.
"I don't think I can take any more of Link's spicy food," Ken said holding his stomach.
"Is it that bad?" Link asked.
"I like your cooking Link, but tonight, I think I'll cook."

This is how it was almost everyday. Link would teleport to Ciel's house, Ken would be waiting. Link would learn a skill, then practice it. When he had it down, they would have a competition using this skill, and the loser would make dinner. Link usually lost, but Ken didn't enjoy Link's cooking that much, so Ciel did it most of the time.

"Oh Link, by the way," Ken said, "your sword should be finished within the week. It won't be as powerful as the Goddess Sword, but it still cuts, that's what is important right?"
Link smirked. "I guess, but the Goddess Sword saved my butt more than once." Link stood up. "I'll be outside," he said leaving the house.

Link walked into the Lost Woods.
"Oh crap," Link yelled. Seven Moblins stood in front of him. "How the hell did they get all the way through the woods?"
Link turned and ran. The Moblins ran after him.
"Everybody run!" he yelled as he reached for his sword and shield. His shield was there, but, "Oh right, it broke." Link reached into the bag at his side and pulled out a Deku Nut.

A Moblin came charging out of the woods. Link hurled a nut at it. It dropped its spear and grabbed its face. Link charged and kicked its knee with all his might.
"OOOWWW." Link grabbed his foot and began hopping up and down.
"What are you made of?"
The Moblin picked up his spear and thrust it at Link. Link jumped to the right.

"Link, remember your training," Ken said from the house.
"Yeah, I got a whole new arsenal of magic tricks." Link held up his hand. "Relampago!" he yelled. Lightning shot from his hand. It hit the Moblin, and it fell to the floor.

The rest of the Moblins ran out from the Lost Woods.
"Okay," Link said reaching into his pocket, "Take this. Imprisonment cube!" He threw a small glass cube at the six monsters. A light flashed and the Moblins were gone. Link ran over and picked up the cube. Each side had a picture of a Moblin on it.
"Better get this reinforced before they break out."

Link ran back inside. He opened a cabinet above the sink. "Here we go." He pulled out a small bag and threw the cube inside it. "That will keep them in there." Link went and sat down at the table. Ciel was staring at him. Her expression told Link he had done something wrong.
"What?" he asked.
Ciel pointed to her left.
Link turned his head. "Oops," he said. The spear the Moblin had thrown was sticking through the wall. "I can fix that."

Link appeared in his room at the castle. Fixing the hole in that wall had taken quite some time. It was nearly midnight and Link would hear it from Zelda in the morning. He yawned and stretched his arms out.
"Fuego," he said holding up his hand. A small flame appeared in his palm, illuminating the room. He moved towards his bed. He was surprised to see a big lump in a pink nightgown. Guess Zelda was waiting for me, he thought.

He grabbed an extra blanket from his closet and sat in his chair, closing his fist and extinguishing the flame. He was tired and soon fell asleep. He didn't have good dreams though. They were filled with pain, suffering, and images of Knil, Aloc, and Zak. Aloc seemed fine, but Knil was trouble. Zak didn't seem right either. He wasn't himself, he was giving off (as the hippies say) a bad vibe.

Link's eyes slowly opened. It had been two hours since he fell asleep. A light was shining from under his tunic.
"Someone's trying to call me," he said groggily as he pulled out his gem. "Is that Knil?" he asked himself. It was definitely Knil. Link examined his friend's face. It was dirty and covered with blood. He wasn't moving, he didn't look like he was breathing.
"Knil, are you okay?" Link asked through the gem. "Knil ANSWER ME, ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?!" he screamed into the gem now.
"Link?" Zelda asked sitting up. Link's screaming had woken her.
"Knil, WAKE UP!" he screamed. "DAMN IT!" Link squeezed the gem tightly and disappeared.

Link quickly put his hand under Knil's chin.
"No pulse, he's dead," he said. A single tear from his eye. "Damn it, who did this to you?" Link began to search the area for clues. A long trail of blood, leading from Knil to another point about ten feet away. He had been injured at that point first. A transmutation circle was another ten in the other direction. Aloc had been here too, but was he one who killed Knil?

It looked like a sword had killed him though, Aloc would never use a sword. Zak was a possibility, but he was a good guy. Maybe a bandit, or a thief trying to steal their money. No, Knil would never be killed by a mere thief.
"What the hell?" Link said staring down at Knil's hand. A message was written in blood. It was one word: Zak.

Sparks began appearing at a spot about twenty feet away. The ground was disappearing when it was done, a nice little hole was there, and Aloc came out.
"Link," he said running towards him. Aloc put his hand out to shake Link's.
"Who did this?" Link said coldly.
Aloc put his hand back down. "It, was Zak. He tricked us." Aloc looked down. "I wanted to help, I really did, but Knil told me to save myself. I got away, and he stayed to fight Zak." He looked up again. "I'm really sorry."

"Don't be. Knil did the right and noble thing. Had you stayed he probably would have killed you too. I would rather only he died, than both of you," Link replied. Then he got down on one foot and placed his hand on Knil.
"Grab my shoulder," he said to Aloc. When he did, Link used his gem to teleport back to Hyrule.

Sub-chapter Two: Things coming together

The funeral for Knil was held a week later. Not many people showed up. Knil wasn't very well known. Link, Zelda, Malon, Aloc, Talon, Ruto, Ciel, Ken, Impa, Navi, and the King of Hyrule were the main mourners. Malon and Zelda were crying for most of the ceremony, and Link gave the eulogy. Nobody else knew him well enough, or were not emotionally capable of doing so. He received a large tombstone near Dampe's hut. It said:

Here lies Knil
a friend, a warrior,
a hero.

Aloc, Link, and Malon stayed at his grave all night. Malon crying her eyes out, and Aloc being angry at himself and Zak. The same thought kept going through his mind: Why couldn't it have been me? Link left the graveyard first of the three. He had more important matters to attend to.

"You probably want an explanation, don't you Link?" Ken asked as Link walked through the door.
"Yeah, I do. Start from the beginning," Link demanded.
"Very well. Ganondorf was the first male Gerudo in a hundred years, so he became their leader. At first, he was calm and reasonable, but as he grew, so did his ego. Eventually, the Gerudo desert wasn't enough for him. He journeyed out of the desert, to claim the rest of Hyrule.
"He planed on taking the Triforce, it was much easier than sending an army out to conquer. But first he required some assistance. This is where we seven wizards came in. All of us were connected to the royal family of Jesterpool in some way. So, when prince Zak wanted to expand his kingdom, he decided we would come to Hyrule, and take its land. But there is a problem there.
"Hyrule is set on one magic frequency, it is always stationary in terms of dimensions. But Jesterpool is unstable. The two lands are only connected when Jesterpool at certain times was the same frequency. It is almost impossible to know when and for how long. But we did not know that. We came to Hyrule, and were stuck. With no place else to go, we became Ganondorf's lackeys.
"When there was trouble that Ganondorf didn't want to take care of himself, he sent us in. and yes, Zak was our leader. We were the ones who cursed the Deku Tree, who sealed Dodongo's Cavern, and tainted Lord Jabu Jabu, but then you stepped in Link. You ruined Ganondorf's plans, and sent him to the evil realm. Though the memory spell was used on all of Hyrule, we were not affected. For before it happened the gateway reopened, and we could go back to Jesterpool."

"So," Link asked, "Why are you here now, what made you want to come back? Surely, you didn't enjoy being Ganondorf underlings."

"We didn't, but Zak made us believe we did. He told us we needed to revive Ganondorf. He told us he was the good person, and was trying to do good things for us, and we believed him. But that was a lie. Zak didn't want Ganondorf to come back and rule."

"Wait," Link said, "He didn't want Ganondorf to be the head honcho, but he tried to revive him anyway? It makes no sense."
"He didn't want Ganondorf himself to be brought back, but what Ganondorf had with him. The Triforce of Power. He is a very skilled master of magic, and could have done it easily. But in order to open the gate to the evil realm, he needed at least one temple inaccessible.
"So, he sent us in, while he did a little acting. He would act like an ally to you, but things went wrong. He didn't anticipate the sages getting involved, so he couldn't expect them to give you that necklace. It ruined his plans. He originally wanted to keep you as far way from the temples as possible. But with that, not only did you know when he would attack, but you could get there easily."

"Thanks," Link said, "I think I can fill in the rest." He began to leave.
"Wait, there is more."
Link turned back around.
"You plan on fighting Zak, correct?"
Link nodded.
"Well, why do it now? He can't touch you for ten years."
Link was confused. "What, why?"
Ken laughed. "He can't cross into Hyrule for ten years. I have discovered a way to determine when Hyrule and Jesterpool are connected. and if I'm correct, the next time he cross will be in ten years. Isn't that great!"

Link wasn't smiling. "No, it isn't. I can't wait ten years until I can avenge Knil. I need to take on Zak now. I can just teleport to Jesterpool. I've been there now, so I can go to where Knil was killed."
Ken stopped smiling. "Yes, I've been meaning to ask you how you teleported there. You have never been there."

"Before Knil died, he must have called me with his replica gem I gave him. That created a connection allowing me to teleport to that area," Link said.
"I see, but you don't stand a chance. Zak is ten times stronger than you. Use the ten years to become stronger. It's probably best. If you become stronger, then you will have a better chance of living, and you can continue to save Hyrule."

Link didn't like it, but Ken was right. He was no match for Zak, and he needed to become stronger. Plus, if he was correct, he would get a huge advantage on his seventeenth birthday. The one thing even Ganondorf feared, the blade of evil's bane, the Master Sword.

The End